The rest of Brian’s day seemed somewhat... uneventful. Sure, he got to talk to his crush, but after that awkward exchange he was left with nothing but embarrassed and confusion. Did she actually like him? Was she just embarrassed to sit next to him? Is Corrine just a huge bitch and dared her to do it? “Last one isn’t true,” he told himself, “Corrine is actually quite nice.” As he pondered on it whilst lying on his bed, his dad knocked on his door and entered not even a second later.
“Hey there champ!” Eugene announced to his son as he walked inside. “You’d never believe this, but check how much cash I raked in from this batch of surf sessions.”
“Hopefully better than last week.”
Ahh last week’s pay. It was enough to pay for food, but boy was it slim. However, when his father pulled out several wads of green notes, Brian was... speechless.
“It also helped that I won 3rd place on the lotto, but...”
“I don’t care about that, this is incredible.” Brian laughed at last. Perhaps his family will use the money to help fix a few problems that the house experienced. Hot water might still be an impossibility (plus Brian liked his hair like that) but at least his family wasn’t going to starve any time soon.

Saturday morning was incredibly exciting for Brian. He could not wait for his training session with the agency. All the blood he could shed... the wrongs he could right... the voices he could silence...
To pass the time, Brian just played video games. He especially enjoyed hack n slash games (go figure) but also a few puzzle games, too. As the clock struck five and he finished another cup of his homemade soda, the doorbell rang.
“Brian it’s for you.” His mother called out. Brian ran downstairs to see Haymish in his regular attire. Whilst it would seem out of the ordinary, it turned out that he had seven pairs of the same pants and shirts.

Walking out with ”package” in hand, Brian followed Haymish to a small car parked outside. Stepping into it, he saw Mr Althause behind the wheel, who smiled as the two boys made themselves comfortable. “Ahh Mr Carvosso. Believe it or not, your mother Carmel once fixed my car. She’s a nice lady.”
“Thank you sir.” Brian smiled. Upon further inspection, the Principal was much more rougher and rugged than he once thought: what he believed were wrinkles were old scars, his left eye was replaced a glass eye and his bushy beard was only there to cover a burn-stained chin. The car ride was silent, and as they pulled up to a small building on Dampier’s Parade, the three got out and walked inside, revealing what looked like a mish-mash of a 30’s office building, and a dojo. Behind the desk was an attractive lady and what looked like a professional marathoner. The two had photos of younger versions of eachother and a young boy in a heart-shaped frame, which not only revealed they were married, but also Haymish’s parents. There was a whole family photo as well. It showed Haymish and his parents standing besides Mr and Mrs Althause, but there was a piece of the photo that was torn off near the end. Whether it was intentional or accidental was up for debate, but there was one piece of evidence who it could have been on it; a hand with a ruby ring on each finger.
“So, Brian, shall we begin?”

Brian nodded. It was time to start the training exercise. With both knives in hand, he walked to his partner, who had switched out his plaid shirt and puffer jacket for a plain, olive, button-up shirt. Switching his glasses to larger frames revealed one of his eyes was slightly lazy, although it didn’t seem to bother the youth much. “Now then, fight me with all you’ve got.” He told Brian, smirking at the boy’s aggressive demeanour.

Brian began his attack by rushing at his opponent with both swords out. This attack was swiftly dodged by Haymish, who tripped and pushed Brian to the floor. “That attack was easily telegraphed. If you wanna hurt someone, do the attack more wildly and sporadically, then you have a chance of hurting me.” His smirk now a smile, Haymish invited another attack.
This time Brian moved similarly to previously, but as soon as he noticed a slight change in direction, he spun towards his mentor with both blades out. Haymish barely managed to dodge it, trimming his goatee slightly in the process. However, he noticed Brian’s arm was still stuck out, so he grabbed onto his wrist and clenched it, forcing him to drop the knife. “Now continue without your knife.” He told Brian, who was writhing in pain. Enfuriated, Brian threw his knife like a frisbee at Haymish, scaring him just enough to slightly loosen his grip. Taking advantage of the situation, he pushed his mentor’s shoulder and grabbed his knife, slashing up his abdominal region. Haymish looked down at where Brian cut; the only real damage was to his t-shirt. However, there was a light cut that bled lightly where the knife hit. “Good job, Brian. That concludes today’s one on one session.”
“What? Already?!? But the fight is very very close.”
“Fights only last 20 seconds when a weapon is involved. You have proven to be more than capable. Plus if you’re still standing, I’ll teach you many other tactics.”
And with that, Brian was driven home with many more questions than answers. Who was the person with the ruby rings? What do the Althause’s want with him? How come Haymish loosened his grip? So many it made his head hurt.

That night, Brian received a knock on a window.
Somehow, a currawong managed to enter his room, despite the window being locked and sealed shut. It fluttered around and onto Brian’s bed before dropping a tied up note.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.
-Currawong”
Needless to say, Brian was confused.

Sunday and Monday were both uneventful, but Tuesday seemed... off to both Brian and Haymish. The day started with both boys running into Alphonse - the smartest, but also sickliest kid in grade 9 - asking that since the two were now connected through the Altruists (Alphonse overheard their conversation) if the two knew about a criminal dubbed “String-tie.” When the two boys replied “no”, Alphonse explained to the two what String-tie did to his victims, which absolutely horrified, disgusted and angered Brian and Haymish. When asked about how he learned about him, Alphonse told the two that his girlfriend Emile’s older sister was a victim, causing the girl to develop severe mental trauma. The two thanked Al, who proceeded to throw up in the restrooms.

Then came lunch time, which was another case of the jocks bullying Brian. An eager Caspar wanted Kym to beat the hell out of him to “give him a taste”, but Kym backed off, claiming that he’d rather play the game. Finally, Nbey asked Brian if he’d like to hang out sometime.
“Just the two of us. A bit like a date, but... you know... not a date.”
“Yeah. Of course. Totally not.”
“No. That’s perposturous.”
“Cool. See you Saturday, Brian.”
“So not a date. Just a hang out”
“Yup. Totally not a date.”
It totally was.

Brian knew Nbey overheard the conversation between him and Kym, so maybe the entire get together was to help prevent the two fighting. But he knew that it wouldn’t happen like that. He knew that the fight would still happen. It was only a matter of time. Even so; he still felt... bad for her. Nevertheless, he still trudged through the week.
Wednesday was the day he got his home ecenomics test results back. Being usually a B-Grade student, he was surprised when he managed to get an A-. Furthermore, all these recent events has improved his mental health impressively, as not only did he have a goal, but he had the drive to fulfil it though. Granted the goal was to grieviously harm a classmate, but maybe he could do it as a way to send a string message. One that’s in red writing... how the sensation felt good...
It then dawned on him that it was now Saturday.
Brushing his teeth and getting dressed into what he liked to call “Actually Decent Clothing (TM)” and headed to the living room in anticipation. 3 hours later, the doorbell rang and he scrambled to get it. There she was, standing in front of him smiling with glee. She wore a knee-high skirt and a shirt she didn’t realise shrunk ever so slightly in the drier. Nevertheless, she was happy to see him and the two began their “hangout”
“So...” he looked at her and paused in thought. “What do you want to do?”
“I brought some terrible bootleg movies we can make fun out of.”
“That actually sounds pretty fun.”
The duo sat down together and watched some iconic movie classics. Who could forget Indian Joe? (which was surprisingly a Bollywood romance set in the Wild West.) Or what about The Hunchback in Paris? Either way, Nbey and Brian were having an absolute laugh. The two then picked up some electronic instruments and played several virtual band games. Brian and Nbey were both surprised at how well they did at Kareoke, and the two eventually began working on sick band names.
“Hey Brian, what about Deadbeat Dreams?”
“Catchy but too emo-y. Falconbreath?”
“Sounds weird, in all honesty.”
Shortly after, he walked her upstairs “And this here, is my room.” Opening the door revealed that his room was in mint condition. His knives were hidden underneath his bed, just so nobody could accuse things that made no sense, like depression of suicidal thoughts. After he showed her his comic and manga collection, Brian sat down with Nbey on his bed. Blushing, he turned to her and awkwardly muttered; “So... yeah... it’s been a fun day, hasn’t it?”
“Mhm. It’s still not over yet. We have a few more hours to go.”
“That much is true. Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure! What is it?”
“Well... I feel weird around you.”
Nbey looked at him in confusion. What sort of weird was he talking about?
“It’s as if every time I see you, I feel frozen in place; my pulse beats like crazy, I start to sweat, I feel as if my heart was going to drag me towards you...”
“You’re... in love with me??”
“I... I guess so.”
“I... never really thought of it that way. I just met you and I...”
“Sorry. It’s my fault. I’m just being stupid to try and get with a girl way out of my league.”
“No it’s fine,” she looked at him, tears forming at the corner of her eyes, “I just really want to spend more time with you first, is all.”
“Ok, that’s fine by me.”

The next few hours were awkward. Maybe the confession halted any thought about Kym, because he was never brought up at all. Whatever the case, at 3:00 Brian waved goodbye to Nbey, telling her that he wanted to see her again soon.
Now it was time for the fight.

Kym and Brian both agreed to meet eachother on the beach at the crack of night. So when Brian turned up to see Kym already standing, waiting for him, he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“Alright, Brine. Your time is up,” Kym smugly declared to his rival, “so you better quit now before you get severely hurt.”
“Oh I’m gonna enjoy making you bleed.” Brian declared in response. His hands were fixed on the hilts of his knife, twitching violently. Admittedly frightened, Kym gulped before pounding at his chest, declaring the fight to start.
Brian took the first move.
Running towards his opponent, he unsheathed his knives and swung directly at Kym’s chest. One cut connected gashing his collarbone. In response, Kym slugged a punch at Brian’s head, knocking the boy off balance. Taking the opportunity, Kym tripped his opponent, expecting him to fall easy. But Brian learned from his prior mistakes, swinging his other knife upwards so it carved into Kym’s arm in the process. This only enraged him, resulting in the boy launching on top of Brian’s body and bashing at his face.
“You’re not so tough when you’re powerless, huh? You have no power against me.” Kym taunted as he punched the boy over and over again, but all Brian could do was smile. That’s when Kym felt it.
A light gash. A sharp pain. Lightly resting on top of the back of Kym’s neck were both of Brian’s knives.
“Give me one good reason not to just end it now. Because I’m REALLY thirsty.”
“... check my trousers.”
“What?”
Brian looked over at Kym’s trousers and noticed a rectangular box in his pocket. Grabbing it revealed a video recorder that was still running.
“Caspar and his friends wanted me to record me bashing the hell out of you. He said that it was the only way I could ever get friends. Especially since I’m the worst on the team.”
Brian looked back at Kym and then the camera. Scanning through previous videos showed that it indeed was Caspar’s camera. Filled with the other football players smoking drugs and doing rather incriminating activities with some of the cheerleaders. Taking the camera, Brian smiled. Kym reaches his hand out and began to apologise; “Look... I’m sorry. I’m just sick of people pushing me down from what I do. I get it from my parents, I get it from the guys who are meant to be my friends. I just thought...”
“It’s ok Kym. We all have problems in life. The two of us should enter school tomorrow as friends; not enemies.”
“Yeah. But let’s get some bandages.”
“Can I keep them after?”
“Heh. You sure are weird.”

Before Brian went to bed, he saw a note on the floor.
“You did well showing mercy. See me at the roof of the Xander Motel tomorrow night.
-Currawong.”
Again, he had no idea who this person was, nor how they got his information. But the offer certainly intrigued him. Drifting to sleep with an aching jaw, he realised that he still had training tomorrow; the lesson being moved due to the fight!
—————
Sunday morning was spent getting prepared for his next training exercise, hoping that it would help him improve his method for madness. When the car pulled up and Haymish stepped out with a third figure, Brian’s grin reached new levels

“So Myat. Did you hear about the fight?” Brian asked his friend, who was as intrigued as Haymish and his grandfather.
“Ahh Yes. How did it go?”
“It ended in a stalemate. We both became friends with a common enemy.”
Pulling out the video recorder, Brian glanced up at Haymish, who seemed incredibly happy about this turn of event.
As they arrived for training, Brian and Myat were partnered together. Myat pulled out a paintball pistol, surprised at the fact Brian brought an actual set of knives. Obstacles were set up along the course, providing cover for both boys.
“Goal is simple. Brian must get to Myat. Myat must shoot Brian.”
And with that, the two began their face off

Brian started out by rushing over, strafing side to side, knowing well that Myat couldn’t POSSIBLY be such a good shot.
Except he was.
“Training over. Myat wins. Better luck next week.” Haymish announced as they packed up.

Flicking through the images, Brian didn’t notice anything except the jocks being total assholes. Then they saw... something peculiar.
There was a girl that they knew; Christina Abarora. There in one picture and gone the next.
And the one after that.
In fact; she had pretty much disappeared from the face of history now that they thought about it.
Then they saw something else. A ruby ring on the table nearby.
“I heard about the Ruby Rings. My uncle delved into their affairs a fair bit. A bit TOO much. Hence why he was ostracised from our family,” Haymish told his colleagues grimly, “his craze for power and pride became his downfall.”
“We’re here.” Brian announced as they stopped outside Xander Motel.

Reaching the top floor, Brian saw the roof access door was unlocked. As he swung he door open he felt the bitter chill of the wind, travelling through the building in a gentle breeze. Stepping outside he saw a figure peering onto the streets below. Despite being only ten storeys above the ground, Brian felt as if he was about to get blown off the edge at any given moment. The figure stepped over to Brian, coming into view within the moonlight.
She was beautiful.
Her face was concealed with a bird-shaped helmet, and her body was draped in a black, feathery cloak.As she approached Brian, the air became aromatic with fragrant scents of flowers and incense.
“I called you here because I heard you need leads for the Ruby Rings.” She explained to Brian; her helmet modulating her voice so it wasn't recognized. Despite this, he felt anger within her tone, as if she was disgusted with the Rings. Even so; it felt all too convenient. When she handed the piece of paper detailing a meeting address, Brian began to trust the girl more and more.
“Come to the alley a few blocks from here. -Yours truly; Enigma” Brian read aloud.
Currawong nodded, redirecting his head to face hers. “If you meet with him and deal with those pesky Ruby Rings, I’ll give you a reward.”
“Of what? Cash? Weapons?”
“Well, whatever you wish."